Rex Burkhead

Injuries to both Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill forced the Bengals to give Burkhead a much larger role in the offense than they expected last season, and he stepped up down the stretch, gaining more ...

Burkhead, who left Sunday's win over the Saints with a rib injury, was subsequently able to return to the game, working on the Patriots' punt-return unit in the fourth quarter, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

With Julian Edelman (knee) on IR and Danny Amendola (concussion/knee) out this week, Burkhead could be called upon to take some snaps on the line of scrimmage Sunday against the Saints, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports.

Burkhead was on the field for 10 of the Patriots' 81 snaps on offense in Thursday's 42-27 loss to the Chiefs, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. In the process, Burkhead carried three times for 15 yards and caught one of his three targets for eight yards.

In his third season, Burkhead found himself buried on a Bengals running back depth chart full of young talent. He was only given four rushing attempts last season but became a contributing factor in the passing game, hauling in 10 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. While it seems unlikely the fourth-year back sees major carries this season, he'll continue to develop as a pass-catcher, boosting his fantasy value for deeper leagues.

2015

After missing the first month of the season with a knee injury, Burkhead spent most of his time on special teams coverage for the Bengals, getting just 33 offensive snaps compared to 113 on special teams. He's a capable pass-catching back, grabbing seven receptions on 10 targets for 49 yards, but as long as Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard are around, Burkhead is going to be limited to mop-up and change-of-pace duty.